High Court
National Lottery operator Camelot wants judges to examine the Gambling Commission's decision to grant licences to the 51 elements of the Health Lottery
The court battle between the National Lottery operator Camelot and the Gambling Commission over its reaction to the Health Lottery will start in July.
The ‘rolled-up’ hearing will begin on 11 July, with the judge deciding whether to allow a judicial review followed by the hearing of the case, if permission is granted.
Camelot applied for a judicial review of the commission’s decision to grant licences to the 51 society lotteries that operate under the Health Lottery brand and its failure to review the decision when asked to do so by the National Lottery operator.
Camelot argues that the Health Lottery, launched last year by the media owner Richard Desmond, is a national lottery rather than a collection of society lotteries.
However, a letter from the Gambling Commission in March said Camelot’s proposed judicial review had "no arguable ground and no realistic prospect of success". It also said Camelot had left it too late to apply for a judicial review of the Health Lottery’s licences because it should have acted within three months of them being granted.
A spokesman for the Gambling Commission said it had nothing further to say.
A spokeswoman for the National Lottery said: "We can confirm that a hearing has been scheduled to begin on Wednesday 11 July 2012. We welcome the decision and look forward to presenting our case in court."
A spokesman for the Health Lottery said: "We are very proud of all the many good causes that have been supported by the 51 society lotteries that operate under the Health Lottery brand.
"So far, more than £17m has been raised to tackle local health issues in every region of Great Britain and over the years we look forward to raising hundreds of millions more to support much-needed work."
